ESPN Radio host Freddie Coleman asks his ESPN listeners: What’s Marcus Mariota worth? A man from New Jersey came on 1080 The Fan Tuesday night. Between 9 and 9:30 Pacific Time, which is 12:00-12:30 his time, the Jersey Boy said Marcus Mariota is worth mortgaging your team for the next five years.
Keep in mind his team is the Philadelphia Eagles, run by Oregon’s Chip Kelly. You hope he’d be on board with Kelly. Is Marcus Mariota worth the next five years of doom for any NFL franchise if he fails?
You keep hearing the Jets want him. Well, they’re used to quarterback failures, so where’s the real test in New York? Loser calls explain how Marcus Mariota is the next Ryan Leaf.
Ryan Leaf? Really? From Heisman to Ryan Leaf comparisons? That’s what the rest of the country hears? Marcus Mariota is worth Ryan Leaf. Let’s check it out.
Marcus Mariota is speeding the NFL draft with his family in Hawaii. No grandstanding for him. No waiting in the green room. No clutching his girlfriend while he waits and waits and waits for his name to come out of the speakers. Where will Ryan Leaf be?
Leaf just got out of prison in Montana. Where will he spend NFL draft day? Probably still counting money from his rookie contract. I searched for Ryan Leaf’s rookie contract and found it on Bleacher Report. Featured Columnist Bryn Swartz listed the Leafer as the ninth worst NFL bust with this:
“The second overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft, Ryan Leaf was signed to a four-year, $31.25 million contract, including an $11.25 million signing bonus, the largest ever given to an NFL rookie at the time.
The day he was drafted, he stated that he was looking forward to a 15-year NFL career, a couple of trips to the Super Bowl and a parade through downtown San Diego.
Nope. Instead, he played four seasons, threw 14 touchdowns against 36 interceptions, posted a passer rating of 50.0 and established himself as the largest draft bust in the history of the National Football League.”
This is the great bleacerreport.com? On the same page is a link to another story with an image of Mariota and the title, “Worst-Case Draft Scenario Every Team Must Avoid.”
Here’s Marcus Mariota graduating in three years, winning the Heisman along with a Rose Bowl win and a trip to the first College Football Playoff final. And he’s compared to Ryan Leaf? Please. Better to compare him to Oregon Duck great Joey Harrington.
What are the chances of Mariota going to a team as bad as the Detroit Lions Harrington was drafted to save? Pretty good. The chances of Mariota getting a team as bad as the Lions with a temp coach like Steve Mariucci and a GM bust like Matt Millen? From wiki:
“Harrington’s career in Detroit was largely unsuccessful. Front office mismanagement, woeful offensive line protection, lack of talent at other skill positions, and an erratic philosophical change in the team’s identity to a conservative West Coast Offense (WCO) oriented attack under Head Coach Steve Mariucci may have played a factor in Harrington not realizing his potential professionally.”
Some Oregon fans still believe Harrington would have had a career like Aaron Rodgers if he’d had time to grow into the game behind a Hall of Fame quarterback like Brett Favre. With a few breaks he could have been the next Troy Aikman.
Marcus Mariota is not Ryan Leaf or Joey Harrington. He’s not Akili Smith or Alex Smith or Matt Leinart either. Instead he’s the guy who will make your team better on the field, in the locker room, and in the community.
To the team that drafts Mariota: Make room in the front office. This is the leader you’ve been waiting for.
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